Under authority of public resolution 67, of the 66th Congress, approved March 4, 1921, an unknown American soldier was exhumed from each of the four American cemeteries in France. They were place in identical caskets and assembled at Chalons Sur Marne. The Unknown Soldier was selected on October 24, 1921. Sergeant Edgar F. Younger, US Army, carrying a spray of white roses, entered the room where the four unmarked flag-draped caskets were resting. He slowly circled, silently placing the roses on one of the caskets. Thus the Unknown Soldier was officially designated. The three remaining Unknowns were then returned to the Meuse Argonne Cemetery. The Unknown Soldier was placed aboard the US Cruiser Olympia, which arrived at the Nation’s Capital on November 9, 1921. The honored remains were taken to the rotunda of the United States Capital, to rest in state until Armistice Day. On November 11, the Unknown Soldier was moved to the Memorial amphitheatre, in Arlington National Cemetery. After services in the amphitheater, the remains were borne to the sarcophagus for brief committal rites. The impressive service closed with three salvos of artillery, the sounding of taps, and the National salute.
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